


Cruel Summer

by LuckyLucy92



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:48:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24535648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLucy92/pseuds/LuckyLucy92
Summary: Phil Mitchell and his son, Ben, are running a successful vehicle repairing business, The Arches, but soon get a run for their money when Jonno Highway and his son, Callum, open one of their own.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell, Whitney Dean/Callum "Halfway" Highway
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm so new to the EastEnders fanfic world, so please drop a comment for improvement! And if you'd like please hit the kudos button for me.

The Arches has been the most successful vehicle repairing business in London since 1990, something that Phil, quite frankly, takes too much pride in, sometimes even more than being the father of his two children, Ben and Louise. But his world is soon turned upside down when another family business, Highway Express, comes to town. Owned by Jonno Highway, and managed by his two children, Stuart and Callum. This man right here is about to give him some serious competition.

"Kinda stupid of ya to run your business right next to mine, don't cha think?" Phil said, not even introducing himself.

"And I'm Jonno. Nice to meet you, too." He said, sarcastically reaching for his hand to be shook.

"I wouldn't touch your hand if it was the last hand on earth!"

"I bet your little boy would."

"Hey! You keep your homophobia comments to yourself!"

"Dad, is there a problem?" Ben walked up saying.

"No, just get back to work, I'll meet up with you in a second."

Ben took a quick glance at them both before doing as he was told, but was surprised when he found someone lurking underneath his desk, "Can I help you?!"

"Ouch!" Callum painfully hitted his head while rushing to get up.

"Ooh, that'll leave a mark..." Ben's sarcastic humor soon fades when he sees blood dripping down the side of Callum's face.

"Oh man, stay still, I'll get the first aid." Ben said, before turning his back to scramble through his bag, "Aha! Found the little sucker."

"Look, you really don't have to do thi-"

"Shhh, you can repay me back later..." Ben said, before giving him a wink.

Callum felt his cheeks turn red from the suggestive remark, and felt dirty because of it, 'cause his father would absolutely kill him if he knew that he was attracted to men. Unfortunately, he also felt aroused from the sensation of Ben "playing with his hair" while trying to stop the bleeding from his scalp.

"There, all better."

"Huh?" Callum said, getting lost in his thoughts.

"You're clear to go on your marry little way."

"Oh, right... thanks."

"You sure you feeling okay after that hit?"

"Yeah, of course."

"And before?"

"Before?"

"You were creepin' through my draws, mate."

"Oops, sorry, about that. I, uh, needed to borrow a pen."

"Bad excuse! Let's here another one."

"What? I'm telling ya the trut-" Before Callum could finish his statement, the door burst open.

"You done yet?!" It was Callum's older brother, Stuart, "Oh, I see that you have company now."

"Who in the world are you?"

"That's not important. Let's go Callum!"

Callum then rushed past Ben and out the door he went with Stuart. Ben was now completely confused by who he just helped, and the mystery man that basically pushed him outside. But he couldn't focus too much on that incident though, 'cause he still had a lot of work to get down for the night.

Back at the new Highway home, Callum was being screamed at by his father, Jonno, for not getting the job done in time, "I ask you to do one thing, just one thing, and you can't even do that straight! I guess the only thing straight about you is your sexuality."

Stuart sat on the couch with his arms crossed, he just hated how his father treated Callum and him, it was like they were some kind of punching bags to him, a way for him to relieve stress, 'cause he never learned the proper way in his youth. "Hey, it's getting really late... let's call it a night, yeah? "

Callum just nodded his head at his older brother, before running up the stairs to cry his eyes out on his bed. "Yeah, we'll talk more about this first thing in the morning."

Stuart just shook his head at his dad, before going up stairs to check on his younger brother, "Can I come in?"

"No, to be honest, I just wanna sleep this one off, but thanks... for always being there for me."

"Don't mention it." Stuart then quietly made his way to his bedroom, unfortunately though, he didn't get much sleep that night, but came up a few new ideas for their new family business, so he was proud of himself.

Over at the Mitchell's place, Ben was getting ready for bed when he heard a loud noise outside his window. "What the heck?!" He thought to himself.

He then threw on his robe, grabbed his gun and phone and quickly made his was downstairs, "Everything alright?" It was Phil sitting at the kitchen table, does that man ever sleep?

"Y-yeah, fine, just forgot something. I'll be back in a sec."

Ben then looked around for a bit outside, before he heard a loud noise coming from The Arches, he then took out his gun and slowly made his way into the area, but before he could even fully open the door, he heard someone yell, "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" It was that same voice from earlier today... it was Callum.

"What. Are. You. Doing?!"

Callum jumped at the scream, but was relieved to turn around to the same guy from earlier, "Dude, you scared me."

"Oh yeah? Imagine how I felt..."

"Sorry, I better get outta here."

Ben then grabbed him by the arm as he tried to escape, "Not so fast."

Callum then breaks down in tears, repeating the words, "I'm sorry." over and over again.

"Shhh, don't cry, just come here." Ben said, before slowly making his way over to him.

Callum then allowed all of his tears that he'd been holding in for way too long to finally fall down his face, 'cause he finally felt safe for the first time in a long time and it was with a guy that he just met yesterday, basically a complete stranger to him.

Ben was overprotective of his leather jacket, but didn't even think twice about letting this guy sob all over it, 'cause the only thing on his mind at that moment was to comfort him as much as possible and if that meant ruining his prize possession, so be it.


	2. Chapter 2

Callum wanted to talk, he really did, but every time he felt like opening his mouth no words would come out, so instead he just let Ben keep on hugging him, stroking his back slowly and whispering in his ear that everything would be alright, that he had nothing to worry about.

Ben was patiently waiting for Callum to stop crying, he hated seeing him in this kind of state despite not really knowing anything about him, but just the way he carried himself made him wanna rock him in his arms for as long as he needed, even if that meant pissin' off his dad for not finishing his work.

After about 10 minutes straight, Callum finally got the nerve to let go, but was taken aback when he realized that Ben was still holding on to him, "Um, it's okay, I'm okay now."

"You sure." Ben said, a part of him wanting the answer to be no, so that he could hang on to this moment for just a little bit longer.

"Y-yeah, thanks."

Ben then finally let go of him and backed up a little bit before asking, "So... what was that all about?"

And just like that Callum felt like crying all over again, but was somehow able to hold it together this time, with a deep breath and a glace at Ben's face, he was finally able to form a proper sentence, "I'm sorry for looking through your stuff. Again."

"No, not that, I mean... why were you crying."

Callum was absolutely shocked that Ben was actually more interested in the tears than his very own belongings, "Wait, don't you wanna know why I was here?"

"Well, yeah, but that can wait, I wanna know who hurt ya."

Callum wasn't just about to rat out his own blood, no, he knew that no matter how cold-blooded they were, he was gonna have to protect them from the outside world, 'cause that's what family does he was taught, family means everything, so here comes his excuse... "Um, the reason was, 'cause I-" But before he could even finished his sentence, a brunette beauty came rushing through the door.

"Oh, thank God you're okay!" She said, before giving him a massive hug.

"Who the hell are you?" Ben said, not appreciating the no-knock on the door.

"Sorry, I'm Whitney. His longtime girlfriend." She said, before beaming up at her boyfriend.

"Oh..." Ben said, not sure why he was feeling like he just lost something near and dear to him, but he was.

"We better get going..." Callum said, before giving Ben a forced smile, which Ben awkwardly gave one back.

After they shut the door, Ben let out a sigh and wondered why he felt such a strong connection to somebody that he just meant, I mean, he didn't even know the guy's name, but something about him wished that he did... and his phone number.

...

The following day, Ben was in the pub hanging with his best friend, Jay Brown, when he got approach by Callum, "Um, hi, I just wanted to thank you for last night."

"Do you even know him?" Jay whispered at his best friend.

"Yes and no." Ben whispered back at him, "Look, it was nothing, I do that for everybody."

"Oh..." Callum said, not feeling so special any more.

"I'm always a shoulder to cry on for people."

"Ben?" Jay whispered again, wondering why Ben was lying to that complete stranger.

"That's nice..." Callum said, not really knowing what to say at this point. 

Ben could see the hurt in Callum's eyes and tried making things better by saying, "And I know we just met, but that was like the best hug of my life and..."

Callum could see the lust in Ben's eyes as he paused to bit his bottom lip, "And?" Callum replied, holding in his breath.

"Callum?!" Whitney said, quickly walking over to their table.

Ben then rolled his eyes and said, "Can you please go back to wherever it is that you came from."

"Oh, back off! Tell him, Callum." Whitney said, anticipating his response.

"Let's just go..." Callum said, before quickly walking out the door.

Whitney looked back at Ben in shock, "Go ahead, you heard lover boy." Ben said, before giving her a sarcastic wink.

Embarrassed, Whitney took of with Callum, as Jay sat there staring at Ben in shock while Ben sipped on his pint, feeling proud of himself.

...

A few hours later, Ben was back at The Arches, but this time with his ex-girlfriend Lola and their 7-year-old daughter, Lexi, when they all heard a knock on the door, "I'll get it." Lola said, rolling her eyes, 'cause Ben seems to never get it himself.

"Um, hi, is Ben Mitchell here?" Callum said, feeling a little bit nervous.

"Yeah, he's at his desk. Why?"

"I just needed to talk to him about something... it's private."

"Oh, well, I was just about to take Lexi home any way, so, he's all yours."

Lola snatched her purse, before waving goodbye to Ben and grabbing the hand of Lexi. "Ben, Whitney is fuming! You need to go apologize to her, like, now!"

"I don't need to do anything, Callum."

"Well, you didn't need to hug me, but you did that, didn't ya?!"

"Don't try and ruin a beautiful moment, 'cause of Whitney, Cal."

"It wasn't beautiful... I'm a mess."

"Yeah, but you're a mess that I want."

"Huh?"

"N-nothing, just leave, will ya?!"

"But you never even apologized to Whit!"

"And I'm never gonna... but I am sorry for one thing, though."

"And what's that?"

"This..." Ben then got up to walk over to him, slightly smiling and then leaned in slowly, tilting his head to the left side, before giving him a gentle, soft kiss with his lips slightly parted.

Ben was pretty worried about getting pushed away from the kiss on the lips, not that he hasn't been rejected before, but he's never really felt this strong desire to kiss someone and actually wanna see them the next day, all the other times were basically one-offs.

Callum's eyes were at first wide open, but he soon let himself go and closed them shut, really feeling Ben's rough lips against his delicate ones, as they both tried to explore each other's months a little bit, letting their tongues touch at a solid pace.

And at that moment, they both knew that neither of them were going home that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Callum woke up to the sight of Ben laying his head on his chest, and he couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy at the view, 'cause he looked so vulnerable, so innocent, so naked, like he was needed protection and Callum was more than happy to give it to him, but he also felt a sudden rush of sadness that once he awakes he'd go back to that tough guy persona again.

Callum then glanced over at the clock to realize that he was now running late for work, "Oh, shit." He cursed at himself and tried to carefully move Ben out of the way without waking him, but failed in the process.

"Babe, where are you going?" Ben said sleepily, before realizing what he had just called him, "Oops, sorry, I meant-"

"No, it's okay, I know that you're tried and all."

"Yeah, but where are you going?"

"To work!"

"But it's Sunday morning..."

"I don't have an off day, my dad and brother would never allow that."

"They don't sound very pleasant to me... why do you even put up with their crap?"

"They're family... I can't just leave them hanging, ya know ?"

"Oh, believe me, I know, but this sounds pretty ridiculous."

Callum just sighed at him, slowly before making his way into the bathroom to go and get dressed for work. Ben could hear him unzipping his pants in there and couldn't help but to be reminded of what happened last night... making him blush.

...

Back at the Highway Express, Jonno was pacing back and forth, wondering where Callum was so late for work, "Where in the fuck is that boy?!"

"Don't worry dad, I'm sure that he's on his way." Stuart said, as he began texting him again.

A few minutes later, Whitney arrived, "Has anyone saw Callum?"

"You don't even know?!" Jonno said, before smacking his paperwork against the desk.

"Now, now, calm down dad, I'll go look for him."

"Thanks, you were always my favorite boy."

Stuart just gave him an awkward smile before letting himself out, "Come on bro, where are you?" He thought to himself.

Just as he was about to go check The Vic out, he heard Callum yell, "Hey, wait up!"

Marching straight over to him, Stuart whispered, "You're late, dad's gonna kill you."

"I'm sorry, I was just..."

"...You were just what?"

"Nothing, it's not important."

"Oh, it better be important or dad's gonna flip even more than he already has..."

"I was planning a surprise birthday party for Whitney! That's it."

"And did it took you all night to do tha-"

"Yes! This'll be her 28th birthday... 30s just won't be the same to celebrate."

"Okay, okay, you're off the hook. But don't do this again, got it?"

"Got it." Callum said, before his brother gave him a hug to reassure him that he was forgiven.

...

Ben was still at The Arches, just about to clean up the mess that Callum and him made last night when he heard a knock at the door, "We're closed!" He shouted, before rolling his eyes.

"It's your dad! Open up."

Ben then slowly made his way over to the door to unlock it, "Um, sorry about the mess... don't look."

"Ben, I already told you before that The Arches is no place for sleeping around! Get a room."

"Yeah, sorry about that... it won't happen again."

Phil just shook his head in disgust, and slammed the door behind him.

...

After a long day of work and an even longer day of listening to his dad run his mouth about how much he needs to be more like his brother on the job, he was finally able to go home, but as he was walking he noticed Ben waving for him to come over, "No, I gotta go home... I can't be late like last night."

"You won't be late... I promise."

Callum then took a deep breath and followed Ben into The Arches, "Where do we even begin?"

Ben took the lead by backing Callum against the wall while locking lips with him, he then made his way down his neck, "You're so good at this." Callum praised him, sending chills down his spine.

Ben then pushed Callum onto the desk and began to take off his work pants, "And here's where the real fun begins..."

Callum then took a deep breath and let Ben have his way with him and loved every minute of it, he never felt this kind of way with Whitney and now he knows for sure that he's gay, but if he's ever gonna be brave enough to come out of the closet is a different story.

...

Still going at it like there was no tomorrow, Ben was just about to ask Callum something important when they both saw the door fly open, "What the fuck?!" It was none other than Jonno and Phil.

"I was just about to ask you if you locked the door..." Ben mattered, before frantically searching for his clothes.

"How could you do this to my son?!" - Jonno.

"Hey, man, it takes two to tango..." - Ben.

"No, you raped him!" - Jonno.

"Don't you dare accuse him of that." - Phil.

"He did, didn't he, Callum?" - Jonno.

"Um..." Callum said, as tears began to fill his eyes.

"Callum?" Ben said, as he walked over to him slowly, but Callum rejected his touch on the arm and ran out in tears.

"And there's your proof!" Jonno said, with a smug look on his face, before following Callum out the door.

"D-dad... you do believe me don't you?" Ben said, as he fought back tears like he always does in front of his dad, no vulnerability allowed for a Mitchell.

"Ben, I don't know what to believe any more." Phil said, as he shook his head and went straight for the door.

And as soon as the door closed, Ben broke down in tears, crumbling to the floor. He just couldn't believe that Callum left him hanging like that and that his dad would ever even think about questioning something of this nature, he once again was brutally reminded that the world was against him and that he couldn't let anyone into his.


	4. Chapter 4

Jonno was furiously walking back and forth at Callum's flat, he just couldn't believe that Ben would even think about attacking his son like that, he was even worse than he had first pictured. "That's it, I'm going down to the police station!"

"Dad, no! Please don't, I mean, I'm sure that his father Phil is handling the situation much better than those guys ever could."

"Hmmm, you've got a point, that man is one sick son of a bitch."

"So, you'll just leave it, yeah?"

Jonno then took a deep breath, "Fine, but just make sure that you stay away from him, okay?"

Callum couldn't help but to frown at that, "I... okay, I'll stay away."

Jonno walked over to give his son a pat on the back before making his way into the kitchen, "Thank God that's over..." Callum said to Stuart, who was watching TV on the couch.

"Think again."

"Huh?"

"Callum you've never been a very good lier in my eyes, I could tell right off the bat that you were hiding something..."

Callum knew that at this point it'd be pretty useless to try and fool his brother, so he had no other choice, but to confess, "You're right, I wasn't raped... I agreed to have sex with Ben."

Stuart ducked his head down for a moment, before looking Callum straight in the face, "Okay, I know that Ben has a bad reputation, but even I don't think he deserved that..."

"I don't think so either! It's dad! I'm afraid of what he'd do to me if I was honest about this situation... I can't find out."

"But you also can't lie about this either!"

"I know that! Just... just give me some time to think, please?"

Stuart just shook his head in disappointment, before turning his attention to the TV again, which made Callum feel extremely bad, 'cause he always wanted to make his brother proud of him, so seeing him the exact opposite was a living nightmare to say the least.

...

Phil was deep in thought at The Arches, he had just texted Ben saying that he needed to speak with him right now and that any plans he had should be immediately canceled, 'cause this was something that just could not wait any longer, "Come on, Ben." He thought to himself.

A few minutes later, he saw the door swing open, "Sorry, but you better make this quick, I gotta drop off Lexi to school."

"Hi, grandpa!" Lexi said, waving to him as she held the strap of her backpack with the other hand.

"Hello, Lexi. Why don't you use these new crayons to draw me something beautiful?" Phil said, to try and distract her from the conversation with Ben.

"Okay, grandpa!" Lexi said, picking up the pack of crayons and scattering them across the floor to draw.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Ben... our business has been going downhill ever since you've been accused of the unthinkable. Apparently Jonno has been running his mouth across the Square."

"Okay? It's not my fault that people are spending nasty rumours about me."

"Yeah, I know that, but I'm gonna have to let you go..."

"Excuse me?"

"...You're fired."

"Fired?! But I'm your son."

"And you'll still be my son after this... it's just a job Ben, nothing personal."

Ben felt like throwing the chair that Phil was sitting on out the window, hell, he felt like throwing Phil out the window, but didn't wanna cause a scene in front of his 7-year-old daughter, so he calmly, but firmly told his daughter that they were now leaving, "Say bye-bye to grandpa." Ben said sarcastically.

"Bye-bye grandpa." Lexi said, waving at him as Ben grabbed her hand and then took her backpack in the other.

...

Callum was taking a late night jog when he spotted Ben sitting on a bench in the park, "Wasn't expecting you to be out here..."

"What'd you think? I'd be in jail right now for rape charges?"

"No, I didn't mean tha-"

"What do you mean Callum? 'Cause you've got me completely confused... I thought we had something special."

"We did, we do! It's just that my father isn't too big on homosexuals."

"And?"

"And... it took years for us to have a proper relationship... I don't wanna throw that all away, Ben."

"So, you're just gonna throw me away, yeah?"

"No! I just think that we should keep our relationship private..."

"Listen, I might've been okay with that if this situation didn't just cause my dad to fire my ass!"

"Oh my God, you got fired?! I'm so sorry Ben, I don't know what to say..."

"Yes, you do! You tell our dads that you're gay, it's as simple as that."

"Ben... please don't make me do this." Callum said, as tears began to stream down his face.

"I shouldn't even have to ask this of you! You know what? Just hit the highway, Highway." Ben said, before giving him a look like he wanted to knock out.

Callum then slowly walked away and headed back to his flat, "You okay?" Stuart said, as he opened the door to a crying Callum.

"Y-yeah, it's just all this lying stuff is seriously taking it's toll on me."

"And that's okay, I mean, you can always tell the truth ya know."

"Even to our dad?"

Stuart then paused for a second, he never really thought that deeply about how their dad would react to the truth, 'cause he was just so caught up in proving Ben's innocence that he overlooked that part, "Look, don't worry, I'll be right there next to you if he tries anything."

Callum then took a deep breath of relief, "Alright, I think I can do it now, so tomorrow, I come clean about what really happened that night... thanks Stuart... for everything."

"Of course." Stuart said, before giving him a huge hug, but he couldn't help but be a little bit scared of how their father would react to this situation, 'cause Jonno was anything but a nice guy.


	5. Chapter 5

Jonno was at his vehicle repairing business, Highway Express, when his sons, Stuart and Callum, walked through the door, "Sons we're making so much money now! We're gonna be rich in no time."

"Dad, it's not all about the money ya know." Stuart said, before glancing over at Callum who was staring uneasy at the ground.

"Like trying to close down that gay bar run by the Mitchell's you mean?"

"Speaking of gay..." Callum said, just loud enough for it to be heard.

"Yeah?"

"I can't do this any more. I can't do this to Ben. I can't do this to myself."

"Just spit it out will ya?!"

"I'm gay... dad."

Jonno's mouth hung wide open before he looked over at Stuart, "He's joking, right?"

"You're joking, right? Dad, it's okay to be gay! I've already accepted him, now it's your turn."

Jonno then let out a crazy laugh, before launching himself at Callum, "Get off of me! You're hurting me, dad!"

"Dad! Stop it!" Stuart said, before punching him square in the face.

"You're gonna regret that." Jonno said, as he held his jaw in pain.

"I don't think so..." Stuart said, before giving him a little smirk.

"Let's just go, yeah?" Callum whispered at him, before quickly making his way out with Stuart following behind.

...

Ben was in the living room with both his parents, Phil and Kathy, when they heard a loud knock on the door, "I'll get it." Ben said exhaustingly.

When Ben opened the door his face dropped from the sight of Callum, "Look, I'm not interested in what you have to sa-" But was cut off when Callum put both hands on his face and gave him a passionate kiss.

After a few seconds of locking lips, Callum broke it up to try and explain himself, "Listen, I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry that I let you take the fall. I'm sorry for it all."

"Wait... you finally told your dad the truth? No more lies?"

"Yeah, I finally told him I was gay, but I needed a little help from someone..."

"Who?"

"My brother Stuart."

"Oh really? He actually has a decent bone in his body, aye?"

"Ben!" Callum said before playfully smacking his arm, "He's the best big brother. I think you should actually give him a chance and let this whole Highway vs. Mitchell thing die."

"Okay, I'll think about it... for you. But no promises, though." Ben said, before grabbing his collar to pull him in for another kiss.

Just then Ben's little sister, Louise, was coming home, "Ew, get a room! You two are blocking the entrance."

"You're lucky you get to see this entertainment for free." Ben sarcastically said, before continuing on with the kiss, but Callum stopped him, "Sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you." He said, before moving aside, so that she could get through the door.

Louise then gave him a small smile, before making her way back inside, "You guys might wanna stay here for a bit... Ben is having a full-blown make-out session right now."

"With who?" Kathy asked, she hates how her son goes from one bloke to another.

"Oh just that Highway kid from across the street."

"Callum?" Phil asked, his eyes now wide open.

"Yeah... you don't have a problem with that do you dad?"

"No, of course he doesn't! 'Cause he knows that this whole Mitchell vs. Highway thing is completely silly... right?" Kathy said, gently elbowing him.

"...Right." Phil said, trying to keep his composure in check.

Louise then gave a half smile, like she knew what was really going on in his head, before giving him a quick kiss on the forehead and telling him and Kathy that she was gonna call it a night.

...

Back outside on the steps, Ben and Callum sat there for hours talking about random stuff like food and music until Callum broke the ice, "I... I don't wanna go back home tonight."

"And why not?" Ben said, his eyes softening at the sadness in Callum's.

"'Cause I can only imagine the state that my dad's in right now..."

"Oh, he took it that bad did he?"

"Yeah... it wasn't pretty."

"Well... you could, I mean, if you're up for it-"

"Just say it, Ben." Callum said, before laughing a little bit.

"...You could stay with me for the night." Ben said, before looking away from Callum shyly.

"Seriously? You'd let me stay with you for a night?" Callum said, a childlike smile now appearing on his face.

"Of course!" Ben said, hell, he wishes it could be every night.

"Thank you! I owe yo-" Callum said, before his phone started buzzing, "Hello?"

"Callum dad has locked me out of your flat!" Stuart said, as he stood outside in the freezing rain.

"Oh no, I can't believe he'd do that!"

"Do what?" Ben whispered, Callum responded back by holding up his index finger to tell him to wait a minute.

"I know, right?! It's really crazy, even for him."

"Stuart hold on for a second." Callum then turned his attention to Ben, "Is it possible that, um..."

"Just say it, Callum." Ben said, playfully mocking the words that he said to him earlier.

Callum jokingly shook his head, before saying, "...Can my brother stay here for the night?"

Ben's face quickly dropped at that, so Callum tried to make things better, "I'm sorry, I know this isn't exactly what you were hoping for, but please... for me?"

Ben definitely wasn't hoping for that, but he'd feel really guilty saying no after Callum asked him so nicely, "Fine, I'll do this for you, but tell him that he's gonna have to sleep in the guest room, alright?"

Callum leaned over to give Ben a hug, before speaking to Stuart again, "You can stay here with me... at the Mitchell house."

Stuart was instantly gonna reject that offer, but the rain just kept pouring harder and harder onto him, "Okay... tell them that I say thank you."


	6. Chapter 6

Stuart felt extremely uncomfortable walking through the Mitchell door, he knew that his dad would just kill if he was aware that both of his boys were spending the night there, "Don't be shy." Callum said to his brother, as he walked through the living room with him and Ben.

Stuart quickly waved at Phil, but not without making a scene with the older man, "Wait, what's the other Highway boy doing here?"

"I've been asking myself that same question..." Ben said, which caused Callum to glare at him.

"We're just staying here for the night, if that's alright with you?" Callum said, his voice a little bit shaky.

"Just say yes dad..." Ben muttered, after a brief moment of thinking, Phil then just nodded his head.

"Thanks." Ben whispered, before leading both Highway boys out the living room.

...

Ben opened the door to the guest room, but was shocked to see that someone else was already using it, "Ben! Haven't I always told you to knock before entering a room?" Kathy said, as she laid on the bed in her pajamas.

"Sorry..." Ben said, as he quickly shut the door and then looked back at the Highway boys concerned.

"I guess I'll be going now..." Stuart said, turning to leave, but was pulled back by Callum.

"No! Ben... please?" Callum said, giving him his best doe-eyed expression.

Ben just let out a sigh, before saying, "Fine, he can stay for one night, but as soon as the sun rises..."

Callum then squealed like a little boy, "Thanks, you're the greatest." He said, before giving him a bear hug.

But before Ben could even show the Highway brothers to his room, there was a loud knock on the door, it was Jonno, "I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning and taking my business elsewhere."

"Oh, come on dad, this isn't normal." Callum said, walking over to put his hand on his father's shoulder, but was rejected.

"Don't you dare touch me." Jonno said, in the nastiest tone of voice that Callum's heard from him.

"But I'm your son." Callum said, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

"Callum..." Jonno said, taking a deep breath, "If you really wanna be my son again, then you'll tell me that you're actually straight... and that this was all just some cruel summer joke."

Callum could feel his heart rate start to pick up, if he simply lied then he would instantly be accepted by his father once again and that's all he felt like he wanted at the moment, but that desire was quickly swept away when he saw the look on Ben's face, he was trying to act all tough, but he could still see the sadness in his eyes, the kind of pain that made him wanna cuddle him in his arms all night like a sick puppy.

"Dad, if you can't just accept me for who I am then I... I think you should just go."

Ben let out a sigh of relief from Callum's response, but Jonno was anything but that, "Lovers come and go but you only have one father in this world." He said, before turning to leave, but was stopped by Whitney.

"Callum! Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick."

"You shouldn't worry about him, he cheated on you with a man, he's gay!"

"No! He'd never do that to me, he loves me and is a good man."

"No, he ain't! And he just throw away his card to heaven."

"No, you're the one who's gonna burn in hell, bastard!" Whitney screamed, before smacking him right in the mouth.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Jonno shouted, as he rubbed his face in agonizing pain.

"Callum didn't actually cheat on me... two years ago he asked me to be his girlfriend just to please you, it was all for you." Whitney said, looking at the older man in disgust.

Jonno looked deep in thought, but no one could really read what he was thinking about, until he finally said what was on his mind, "Goodbye, son."

"But dad!" Callum yelled, chasing after him, but was pulled back by Stuart, "Let him go, bruv."

"Yeah, he's not worth the chase." Ben said, as he walked over to comfort Callum with some gentle back rubs.

"Callum, you have so many who actually love you for who you really are, you don't need any more... especially not that guy." Whitney said, but her comforting words still weren't enough to help stop Callum from breaking down in tears.

"Shhh, it'll all be alright." Stuart said, before wrapping his arms around him, which both Ben and Whitney joined in, and soon enough the tears stopped falling, 'cause Callum was sandwiched between three of the most important people in his life, and he never felt so loved before.

...

Stuart decided to sleep on the sofa, giving Ben and Callum some privacy in the bedroom, yeah, he hated to let his brother go like that, but felt like the younger man wasn't as bad as he first suspected he was and he wanted to show him that he gained a little bit of his trust along the way.

"I guess... I guess you'll be sleeping right here on the bed then?" Ben said, not too sure how Callum was gonna react to that.

"Y-yeah, I mean, if you don't mind that is?" Callum said, fiddling with the bottom of his t-shirt.

Ben just smirked, before playfully pushing Callum onto the bed, he then slowly climbed on top of him like a tiger and began kissing the right side of his neck, causing Callum to moan a little bit, afterwards Ben began to kiss his way down, lifting up his t-shirt, so that he'd be able to start on Callum's abs, "Ooh, I see someone's been hitting the gym."

That silly compliment caused Callum to laugh out loud and that laugh was now Ben's most favorite thing to hear, it was pure music to his ears and he couldn't wait to find more ways to hear it more often.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my first ever fan fiction for EastEnders! It really does mean a lot to me.


End file.
